This Beautiful Life...

It's been a while...

2012-01-23T14:45:00.000-08:00

My last post was in June of last year... and I really don't have a whole lot to say, but now that I've said that, watch this be the longest post I've ever written.
So, so many things have happened.
Norman and I celebrated 2 years of marriage in June...
and we went to Oregon at the end of the summer.
And I turned 25 in October, we had a big party in November for my birthday.
We celebrated Christmas at home (not in Glamis, unfortunately).
We ordered new couches at the beginning of this month. We found a place in West Sac that happened to have a booth at Denio's, so we ordered from there. Two loveseats and a couch for a great price. The day after we ordered, they called to say they didn't have the fabric color we wanted, which was the only option for us out of the colors they DID have. The color we wanted was called "garden" and it was a beautiful sage green. The colors they have were called "oak" which was a light tan (way too light for our house), "fudge" which was a chocolate brown with red in it (wouldn't work with our red carpet, as I don't want the red to be a focus), and "wine" which you can imagine is a beautiful burgandy. So "garden" it was... except not. They called us and said they had no idea when the fabric would be in. So our options were to wait or pick a new color. And I wouldn't have minded waiting, but how long? No one could tell us... 2 weeks? 6 months? Your guess is as good as mine. So we headed to Ashley Furniture here in town and found some in a chocolate brown that we liked better for the tiniest amount of money more. They'll be here in a week and a half. Now to get our money back for the others (oh yeah, did I mention we paid in full for the ones we won't be getting?). Anyway, we headed down to Denio's on Saturday after calling them and telling them we wanted our money back. Problem is, they called us on Saturday to say that they'd forgotten our money in West Sac. So to West Sac instead of Roseville. No biggie... it's only an hour and a half away. *rolls eyes*
Oh yeah, and the thing that's really been affecting my life lately is the news that my boss was sleeping with a co-worker. Not even just sleeping with her, but dating her. No big deal... except the wife and 4 kids he has at home. Opps! Bad judgement call? I'd say. And when you ask me "why her?" you bet your ass I'm going to defend her, I mean, she's my friend. I'm not saying his wife is hideous (she's not, she's beautiful), and I'm not saying my friend was a trade down either. But when you ask me "why her?" I'm going to tell you why... She's amazing. She's cute, sweet, caring, spunky, and she's a helluva lot of fun. I get it. I don't really get her attraction towards him (I dislike him with everything I have), but everyone has a match, and if I had found out they were together (if he weren't married with kids), I would have accepted him because she's my friend. This affair was going on since April of 2011. That shocked me too. 9 months. I don't and never expected to be the person that either of them came to to get it off their chest, but I feel betrayed, and despite the fact that she's my friend, I feel more betrayed by him, not her. I mean, I never asked her about them. If there was anything going on. I suspected it, but I figured neither of them would step over that line. But I asked him about his trips he went on. His hiking trips. And he told me all about them. Not just simply "I had a great time, thanks" but all about a certain rock he climbed or how the weather was, and the types of conditions he camped in. Come to find out, he wasn't hiking. He was in Disneyland with my friend. He bought my friend an $800 necklace for her birthday. I came home after finding that out and told Norman if I ever didn't notice that much money missing, I would want him to call it off if he didn't have something shiny for me to show for it. Then, after finding out about the $800 necklace, I found out he bought her car. $1300. And her iphone. $200. And he paid for groceries and gas and Disneyland, not once, but twice. How the fuck do you not notice this kind of money missing? And they don't even have the excuse of separate accounts. Nope. It was all joint. I'm completely blown away. And now my whole work world is blown up. The last five years I have been working for a man who skeeved me out, only to find out he was a genuine jackass. It wasn't just me and my feelings. He proved me right. And that disgusts me more than letting me just think it. I feel awful for his wife... his kids... my friend. But I'm looking at him and laughing, because all I can think is "How dumb are you?". And then... here's the best part: There were 3 more. None at the same time. But there have been a total of 4 women (I worked with ALL of them) who he's been with. But my friend was the only "relationship" one. Consider my mind blown.

Pity Party of 1!

2011-06-03T06:54:00.001-07:00

Stop pitying yourself! What just happened to you has happened to millions of people, women, men, couples. I'm sick of hearing about how you just can't get over it! Stop posting on Facebook looking for sympathy. I have none for you.

I'm starting to resent my own house...

2011-02-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, Norman and I chose a new renter and allowed her to move her belongings into our house. Since then, my blood pressure has been thru the roof and I can't stand being at home without Norman. Part of the rooms we're renting out is a combination of a kitchen/living room, along with a bedroom and the only reason she needs to enter into our house is to go across the hallway to the restroom. But instead, she stands in the hallway, yells "hello?" and then barges into our living room to look for someone. I understand you need something, but this is MY house. This is MY living space, not yours. You have your own, and just like I would never barge into your living area, you should not be barging into mine. I don't feel like I have any privacy left in my own house. I keep joking (maybe I'm not joking, I'm not really sure) about going to stay with my parents until she's gone, however long that may be. The other night she was in her room, and then we heard her outside and while she was out there, we heard a crash come from her room. After she came back in from outside, she went into her room and then came stomping into our living room, where Norman and I were sitting on the couch. "Did you hear a crash?" she said, glaring at Norman. Did she want us to yell at her outside that something had crashed? She seemed kind of mad that no one had mentioned anything, even though we hadn't seen her yet. Then, she wanted to know why her satelite box wouldn't stay on. I'll tell you why it won't stay on, BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T FREAKING PAID RENT YET! You don't get internet or satelite tv until you pay your rent! Duh! I swear she's taking more of Norman's time then I'm taking nowadays. He comes home and goes into her room to work on crap she's broken or upset about. What about me? My house needs some love too. Today, the power went out. It was a scheduled outage, and they are repairing something, and we got a notice in the mail that it would be off from 9-11 this morning. At 905, sure as shit, the power went out. She freaked! She came out into the hallway and yelled "Did the power go out?" I sat in bed and chuckled to myself, trying not to blow my lid. Then, I hear her in her room yelling "I have so much to do today. I don't have time for this! What the hell happened to the power?" So I start to get ready for work, and she catches me out in the hallway.
Her: "What happened to the power?"
Me: "It went out."
Her: "I have too much to do today! I-"
Me: "What would you like for me to do about it?"
Her: "Where is the breaker box?"
Me: "It's not just our house, it's the whole park, and the breaker box isn't going to help you."
Her: "Well, I need power! I have too much to do today!"
Me: "Again, what would you like me to do about it?"
Her: *Big sigh and goes back into her room, slamming the door*
Me: *Rolls eyes and leaves for work*

I swear this woman will be the death of me.

Blocked on Facebook?

2010-12-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Lol at blocking me on Facebook. Good way to show you're a big girl and it's funny to me how people are starting to ask me what happened because they think it's weird that YOU blocked ME and not the other way around. Don't worry, I'm telling them all what really happened. How you tried to sleep with my husband and then called me a "life ruiner" when I asked if your boyfriend knew.

I don't really think of you much anymore. Just when I see you around town, and my stomach turns. I guess that's not true. I think about all the money we're saving by not taking you out with us, and how it's nice to have some privacy again without you sleeping on the couch. Oh! And how I don't have to keep you entertained anymore. It's nice to have a marriage with my husband without you in it!

I'm not really sure what about you makes people trust you. Everything that comes out of your mouth is lies, so you've got all of your friends fooled. Like the time you told everyone that the man you were leasing your car from came and stole it from your driveway. No, he didn't. You stopped paying on it and it was repossessed. That's not stealing. And I'm really sorry you had to have his kid in order to get a ring from him. I'm completely against getting married JUST because you have a kid. And the way you lied and told him you were on birth control only to turn up pregnant three months later. Wow. Good for you. I hope sometime soon your whole world comes crashing down around you and all of your lies. I'll be watching.

An old friend...

2010-11-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

So many of you remember the post about my MOH that quit on me, and how upset and heartbroken I was... well, I'm not going to say that I'm completely over it, but about a week ago, I got a random friend request from her on Facebook. It completely blew my mind that she wanted to open that line of communication again. Two days later, I got a message in my inbox, and I read it and decided to text her to see what she had to say. We talked and cried and laughed and decided to meet for dinner tomorrow night. I'm nervous, to say the least. I'm a little bit afraid I'm going to see her and start crying. I'll update when I have some time (after dinner tomorrow).

My birthday

2010-11-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to me... almost a month ago! lol. I spent my birthday doing exactly what I wanted to do. We went to dinner the night before (because it was Saturday), and the sushi (Mikuni's) was AWESOME! Then, on Sunday (my actual birthday) my parents came up and cooked us breakfast. Then my in-laws came over (a total surprise to me) and dropped off my birthday present (a chest freezer for our laundry room). My parents gave me money (which we used to buy Rodney Carrington tickets in Reno). Norman bought me a new guinea pig cage (just like I thought) and I love it! It's so much easier to clean, and my house doesn't smell like pine shavings! The girls love it. They have so much more room. They run and do laps in there, it's funny to watch. Overall, it was a great birthday!

If you're broke...

2010-10-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

If you're broke and you want to complain about it, feel free to do so. But... don't complain to me and then do ANY of these things:
1. Get pregnant. If you're broke, you should not be bringing anything living and breathing into your life that you have to fully support. Norman and I are not trying to get pregnant simply because we have no idea if Norman is going to have a job through the winter. You bet your ass I would be knocked up or trying if I was financially secure.

2. Buy a house. Norman and I bought a house four years ago. We're broke. We weren't broke when we bought the house. This is different. If you're in the same boat I am, I can relate, however buying a house on unemployment is ridiculous, and makes me want to stab you. We are not so broke that we are even close to losing our house, so please don't think that.

3. Buy a nice car. If you're broke, buy something that runs that isn't too expensive. Or better yet, don't trash the car you've got currently, and wait until you have money to get a good car. I would love to be driving a 2010 4x4 4 door Jeep Wrangler, but unfortunately, nothing is wrong with my camry and we don't have the money to drive to Auburn and buy a Jeep.

4. Go on an expensive vacation. I haven't been on an expensive vacation in months. In fact, I think our Honeymoon was the last time (June of 2009.) I don't care to hear how broke you are, then find out you're taking two weeks off to go to Disneyland. I want to go to Disneyland, but can't afford it.

5. Get a puppy/kitten. They cost money. Enough said.

6. Quit your job. If you voluntarily quit your job and then complain that you're broke, I might run you over with my old, beater car.

7. Pull money from the state simply because you don't want a job. Unemployment because you were laid off is one thing, and most of the people would rather be working than pulling from the state. But if you're not even trying to get a job, I don't believe you deserve that money...

I'm sure there are more things that annoy me, but I'm going to stop here for now... I might add more later.

We're up to four (almost)...

2010-09-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

Guinea pigs that is... I have Cashew, who used to belong to my "sister." Then I got Stella, a young sow along with Trixie, another young sow because I wanted two in the same cage. (Cashew does NOT like other pigs.) Trixie was with us for a few months, and then passed away unexpectedly. I rushed to the pet store and bought Birdie (another young sow) so that Stella wouldn't get used to being alone. A few weeks after that, Birdie lost the use of her back legs and despite the fact that I started hand feeding her (she couldn't walk to the food dish), she didn't last very long. I now have Pumpkin (yet another young sow) in with Stella and they are doing really well together. On Saturday, September 11th, the pet store in town had a pregnant sow give birth, and I was immediately notified. (I guess that's one of the perks when the girl in charge of rodents really likes you and knows you like pigs.) I have one of them on hold, pending finding out which sex it is. If the one I picked out is NOT a girl, I can't take her because I don't want babies. But if this ends up being the case, Jessie (the girl at the pet store) is going to pick one of the other four babies (she had six, but one was still-born) for me to have. My only requirement is that it's a girl. Cashew is fixed (my "sister" paid $160 to have his nuts chopped off) but again, does not like other pigs, so no boys in this house! For my birthday (next month), I've informed Norman that I want a bigger guinea pig cage for my three girls. I want one like this:

This is Cashew:

And this is Pumpkin:

I can't seem to find a picture of Stella, but I posted a picture of her a few posts ago, and this is (hopefully, if it's a girl) Rocket:

New layout

2010-09-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

I'm going to give this one a try for a while. It's brighter and cheerier than the navy blue animal one. It kind of reminds me of spring, which, I guess in September isn't exactly a good thing, but whatever. It's my blog and I do what I want! lol

If I die young...

2010-09-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
oh oh oh oh
Lord make me a rainbow, I’ll shine down on my mother
She'll know I’m safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
ain't even gray, but she buries her baby
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had just enough time
If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had just enough time
And I’ll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom
I’m as green as the ring on my little cold finger
I’ve never known the loving of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand
There’s a boy here in town says he’ll love me forever
Who would have thought forever could be severed by
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had just enough time
So put on your best boys and I’ll wear my pearls
What I never did is done
A penny for my thoughts, oh no I’ll sell them for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I’m a goner
And maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singing
Funny when you're dead how people start listening
If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
oh oh
The ballad of a dove
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep ‘em in your pocket
Save them for a time when your really gonna need 'em oh
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had just enough time
So put on your best boys and I’ll wear my pearls

Day 2 of 9...

2010-08-27T16:10:00.001-07:00

...and I'm starting to feel tired. It's only my Tuesday. This isn't good. lol. Here from 1145-800, and then back tomorrow morning. Oh my...

Day 1 of 9...

2010-08-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

...without a day off in between. Today is Thursday, August 26, and I work from 1200-830. So far, so good. But it's only Monday. Next Saturday is my next day off. Not the 28th. But September 4th. Pray for me. lol

Disrespectful?

2010-08-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

Can someone explain to me the point in disrespecting another adult who has never done anything wrong to you? Or how about when a person disrespects EVERYONE else? I don't understand. What's the point? It makes no one want to respect you. Especially when I've been at work for less than an hour and you've got me in tears with all of your digs and put-downs. We're both adults. Why can't you treat me as such? I realize you are older than me by quite a few years, but that doesn't mean you're better than me, nor does it mean I'm stupid. Stop treating me like I am. And stop calling me out in front of people, especially when I've done NOTHING wrong.

Busy Weekends

2010-08-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend (starting tomorrow), Welder Guy is leaving to go camping with his buddies for one of their bachelor parties. He is leaving tomorrow after work and will be home Sunday. They are going camping and to ride their quads.

Next weekend, we were supposed to be going camping with his parents. I am working instead.

The weekend after that, Labor Day Weekend, his buddy is getting married. Out of town. Not too far out of town, but about 2 hours from home.

We've got some busy busy weekends coming up!

Woohoo!

2010-08-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Welder Guy has had quite the series of jobs since our wedding. He was working for a place called S.M. for about five years, when one week before our wedding he was let go because they were just sooooo slow. So he started working for K.D. Worked there for a few months, then went to work for L.B.C. Finally got a job working for H/C in June, and got a call yesterday from S.M. to come back to work. We're so excited, but at the same time I worry he's burning bridges. I mean, I want him to go to work for S.M. I want him to work there until he can't work anymore. They treat him well, pay him well, the benefits are amazing... and honestly, I miss the guys he used to work with. But at the same time, he's gone thru a handful of jobs and I worry if S.M. gets slow again, where will he go? This past year has proven to me that he can do anything. He's an amazing worker and any place that hires him is rewarded with his hard work, but I also know that he is making decent money and benefits working for H/C. The benefits and pay at S.M. are MUCH better, but again, if they get slow...? Anyways, I'm excited to have my husband back! No more commuting an hour and fifteen minutes each way! He'll be working 20 minutes from home! This means more time together.

Oregon

2010-08-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well, we got back from Oregon a few weeks ago. It was an amazing trip! The weather was around 65 degrees everyday, and there was not one drop of rain the whole week. We returned home to 90 degrees and humidity like crazy. The trip was rather uneventful, and while that may sound boring, it's exactly what Welder Guy and I needed. It was a true vacation. We got to the campground on Saturday to find that MIL and FIL had adopted another cat. Sheba was 11 (ish) weeks old and is white with blue eyes. She's a cutie, but we got all kinds of strange looks while camping with a cat. Especially when she was on one of those retractable leashes attached to the trailer. Aside from a dead battery (I think Oregon kills Welder Guy's quad batteries), there was no major emergencies, aside from when I rolled my quad on our very last ride. I still blame Welder Guy, as I was following him when it happened. But I'm okay. I ended up with a huge bruise on my back, along with a huge scratch. Nothing that wasn't fixed with some time. No pictures, as blogspot is way difficult to insert pictures into. Maybe later!

I suck at blogging

2010-06-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's not like I have a bunch of people who read this, but for those of you who do, I'm sorry... I suck at blogging. I'm really good at signing on and catching up on the blogs I follow, but I'm not so good at sitting down and writing a blog post.
What's been going on with me? Not a whole lot. Welder Guy and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary at the beginning of the month. It was so nice to spend the day with him doing nothing. We've been on a few sand trips in the last couple of months, but our big one is just a few weeks away. Not even weeks really, but like, 8 days! OMG! I'm so not ready for it. We're going to be gone for 9 days or something, and I'm not packed or ready for this.

This Saturday, Welder Guy and I are hosting a BBQ at my parent's house for their 30th wedding anniversary. It'll be 30 years on the fourth of July that my mom has put up with my dad's strong will. We're having about 25 people to the house in their honor.

In April, for Welder Guy's birthday, we went to Yerington, Nevada. It was awesome. Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to Winnemucca. I'm pretty sure it's the busiest I've ever seen it, but after we rode over the big hill, there was nobody. It's like everyone there has no idea there is more sand dunes over the big hill. I'm not complaining though, because that means the sand isn't tore up.

On a deeper note, I've recently found myself overwhelmed with emotions and randomly crying when I hear a certain song or when it's quiet and my brain overloads. There have been a few songs that have touched me lately, and I find myself thinking of Welder Guy or our relationship and then I have tears running down my cheeks. I never pictured myself being married at 23, and settled down. When I was younger I figured IF I got married, and that was a big IF, it would be closer to 30, maybe a little bit after, and I would have a fantastic career and my own life and then I would have to mesh it with my husbands. Not that Welder Guy and I haven't meshed lives, but I feel like instead of meshing them, we've created this life together. I met Welder Guy when I was 18. Oh, young love! It amazes me that over 5 years later, I'm still completely head over heels in love with him. I find myself crying over the fact that he works an occasional 14-16 hour day... and why? To provide for me. To keep the roof over my head. And it's not that I'm the driving force, because I know that we could move in with either set of parents, and we would be okay, but he does all of this work just so that we can have our own life together, with no interference. He amazes me all the time, and I fall more in love with him everyday, if that's possible. He's amazing. End of story.
More posts when we get back from Oregon. Or maybe next week after the party. No promises though. :)

2 Baby Pigs...

2010-05-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

So a few posts back, I told you all about how I promised Welder Guy that I wouldn't bring anymore guinea pigs home until Cashew passed. Well, that didn't last long. One of the babies of that guinea pig at the pet store went back onto the market. (She was on hold and it fell thru.) Well, I happened to be there at the exact moment that the guy was erasing the writing on her cage, taking her off hold. I asked if she was available and he said yes. I had him put her on hold and then went home to tell Welder Guy. I didn't plan on letting her go, but I had to respect Welder Guy and ask first. After a long discussion about taking this guinea pig, Welder Guy and I decided that I would get her, and another baby, and keep them in the same cage, therefore achieving my goal of having two in the same cage. So the next day, I went and picked her up, and then headed down the hill to go to the next closest pet store, to get her a friend. I ended up finding an adorable baby pig down there, and they've been living in Cashew's old cage for a few weeks now. After thinking for about 3 days, I finally came up with names for them. The black and white one (from the batch of babies) is named Trixie, and the tri-colored one (from down the hill) is Stella. They are talkative, sweet, cuddly baby pigs and are so much fun to play with. We've still got Cashew, who seems to do okay with them as long as they aren't in the cage, and he is still just as talkative as before. I can be in the kitchen and call Cashew and he just squeals! It's so cute. Then the girls start talking, and Welder Guy rolls his eyes and tells them to "knock it off." lol. Here are some pictures of our babies:

Happy Birthday Husband!

2010-04-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a month since I've posted! Sorry. Things have been crazy, and yet I feel like I don't have anything interesting to write about. Today is Welder Guy's 26th Birthday. We're leaving here in about an hour to go to Yerington, Nevada to go quad riding. Pictures when we return.

A quick update

2010-04-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a while, but I should stop saying that as all of my posts seem to start with this sentence.

Not much is going on in the Winn household. I finally grew some balls and stood up for myself and now instead of getting 8 hours a week, I'm up to 20. I was scheduled for 9.25 this week, but have gained enough to get me to 22 (picking up other people's shifts). I am actually scheduled for 20.5 next week, so we'll see how it goes.

Welder Guy had an interview for a company that's moving out of the bay area up into the mountains. The lady he interviewed with liked him enough to forward his phone number to their lead welder. So now we're just waiting for the lead welder to call so we can make a trip down to the bay area to meet him. We're hoping to make a day trip out of it, as it's a long drive for what could be a 15 minute interview.

On the animal front, Lady and Preston are still our main terrors. We still have Cashew, three fish tanks... but now we have a blue belly lizard and I'm up to seven mice. One of the guinea pigs at the pet store had babies about a month ago, and I would have loved to have taken two of them, but I've promised Welder Guy that we will wait until Cashew is gone before buying anymore so that they can live together. (Cashew doesn't like any other guinea pigs and I really want two so they can live together.)

That's about it here at the Winn home. Sorry there's nothing exciting to write about.

Firsts

2010-03-09T14:12:00.001-08:00

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
Haha. Not really a date but Jessika Ivy.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
Nope.

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
Uhhh, probably a smirnoff bitch beer.

4. What was your FIRST job?
Dry Clean Today

5. What was your FIRST car?
The camry I'm still driving around.

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
Mom.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
Norman

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Koutrouba.

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
Disneyland, and I was little!

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk?
My first best friend was Sara S. and no, we don't talk anymore.

11. Where was your FIRST sleepover?
No idea.

12.Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
Norman.

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
My own.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Opened my eyes and checked the time.

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
Uhh, something at the state fair.

16. FIRST tattoo?
One turtle (I know have two) that I got in Lahaina, Maui.

17. FIRST piercing?
Ears.

18. FIRST foreign country you've been to?
Mexico.

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing in the theater?
No idea.

20. FIRST Detention you had?
7th grade because I couldn't print out my homework so technicaly it never got turned in.

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
CA

22. If you had one wish, what would it be?
To have enough money that Norman wouldn't have to worry about where he's working, where I could quit and stay home, and we could start a family.

23. What is something you would learn if you had the chance?
Sign Language again. Or how to service my car!

Mom and Dad's Anniversary

2010-03-08T12:58:00.001-08:00

This year, in July, my parents will have been married for 30 years. I'm hoping to have a big BBQ for them either on the 3rd, or the weekend before (last weekend in June). I'm leaning towards July 3rd, as their anniversary is the 4th and we could do a red, white and blue theme. It will be at their house, mostly because we live too far away to hope that people can make it. Let's hope for beautiful weather (by beautiful I mean not 110) and lots of RSVP's.

Oregon Dunes

2010-03-08T12:55:00.000-08:00

So we just found out the dates for the Oregon Dunes trip this summer. We have the campground booked from July 5th to July 17th. However, we won't be staying the entire time. We're thinking of maybe leaving on Friday, July 9th, and coming home Saturday, July 17th. It doesn't seem to matter how long we're there, it's never long enough. I'm looking forward to the beautiful weather (please cross your fingers that it's beautiful, lol), and riding my quad for days and days.

Joshua's Birthday

2010-01-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

My brother's 16th birthday is Monday. I can't believe it's been 16 years since he came into the world. I feel like it was yesterday. I remember when he was very little and he peed all over the floor from his changing table. I remember when he pulled the gallon of seafoam green paint off of the changing table and onto himself and ruined all of the clothes that were in the drawers. I remember him stealing nailpolish and spilling it all over the dining room table and then him keeping quiet when I was grounded for making a mess of the table. I also remember my mom finding the nailpolish under his bed only to have him admit that he had done it. Of course, this was all after I was done with my punishment so I had still been grounded for it.

Joshua,
I can't believe you're going to be 16. You're in high school and you have a girlfriend and you're growing up too fast. We've had our ups and downs and we've fought like no one else I know, but you are my little brother and I love you always.

Love,
Big sister.

Work

2010-01-26T14:27:00.000-08:00

So eventhough I've only been working about 20 hours a week, I can't shake this tired feeling. I feel like I'm living at work. I come home, shower, sleep and go back. I don't think it's the amount of hours (at least I hope it's not, because I'd really like a 40 hr/week job), but rather when the hours are. I wake up when Welder Guy leaves for work (about 545am). He just wakes me up to kiss me goodbye, but I have a heck of a time getting back to sleep. So, I get up and work on a load of laundry or the kitchen and then I sit on the couch and catch up with the DVR. I'm up doing things all thruout the day, and then at around 2, I get up and get ready for work. I work from 3-8 (sometimes more, sometimes less), and I get home at 830. Norman and I eat dinner and go to bed. Rinse, repeat. I do this five days a week, and then I work one weekend day about two weeks a month. I would love to have a job where I can work from 8-5, come home, have dinner at a reasonable time, go to bed, spend every weekend with my husband, etc. I don't make very good money at this job. I would if I could get 30-40 hours a week. I only work 15-20. I make $9.72 an hour. Let's make the math easier and say I make $10.00 an hour and 20 hours a week. That's $200 a week, minus taxes, which makes it just over $300 a paycheck (every two weeks). I made $8000 last year. Not even enough to cover our mortgage payment if I didn't spend one penny on anything else. That kills me! My cousin, who has a "learning disability" (I'll explain the quotes in a minute), makes like $1500 a month on Social Security. She doesn't work... at all. She's not even looking for a job.

Now to explain the quotes. It's not that I don't think she's being honest about having a learning disability. I know that she has issues that make it harder for her to learn. She doesn't read well or write well, but she also does not have down syndrome or something more serious. If she wanted to, she could take a job at a grocery store, or answering phones, or something. But why? Why should she take a job where she's not going to make more money than she does on social security? It just frustrates me. /Rant.